McCain has caught Obama in the polls

McCain has closed what was once a really big gap and its now a dead heat. I personally thought this was going to be a Obama walkover but now, this close to the election, Obama is in trouble. Bush is totally unpopular, Obama is charismatic and a terrific orator but as he has moved more to the right, his message is getting garbled. For an old geezer like McCain to close the gap this quick is amazing.

1 in 5 Hillary supporters have said they will vote for McCain and many of the others simply are going to sit this one out.

Barack should win this going away, but his recent centrist statements have alienated the more left leaning Dems. Joe Lieberman may speak at the REPUBLICAN convention, for goodness sake, and is being considered as a possible Veep for McCain.

This should be what amounts to a Democratic turkey shoot but now its a horse race.

I've mentioned before that the mainstream media prefer a horserace to a blowout, because the former is more exciting and leads to better ratings and more advertising revenue. So it doesn't surprise me to see them reporting that the race is tightening.

Joe Lieberman is liked by nobody, least of all Democrats. They even ousted him from the party previously. That would be a terrible choice on McCain's part. He ought to pick someone who will cement him a couple of wobbly swing states, of course.

The Republican hit-squad in the media is out in full force, and the best they can do is act like the Zogby poll is the only one out there because it's practically the only one giving McCain a strong lead.

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I always thought it was going to be close, because in the end a lot of people will say, "I kind of like both these guys, but if I have to make a choice I'm going with the war hero."

But keep in mind that Obama has an ENORMOUS amount of campaign money. I think that soon, we'll see a barrage of prime-time TV commercials showing things like McCain getting Shias and Sunnis confused, then correcting himself after Lieberman whispered in his ear; McCain flippantly answering "100 years" when asked how long our troops might stay in Iraq; and McCain defining a rich person as someone who makes $5 million or more per year (as he did the other night).

Obama will hammer home the message that McCain is a lot like Bush, and more subtly, that McCain is a befuddled old man who doesn't understand today's problems.

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Also keep in mind that a lot of conservatives probably don't even know yet that one of their own, former congressman Bob Barr, is the Libertarian candidate for president. If they can forgive him for eating cheese made from Borat's wife's breast milk, he may pick off enough votes make the difference in several states.

Joe Lieberman is liked by nobody, least of all Democrats. They even ousted him from the party previously. That would be a terrible choice on McCain's part. He ought to pick someone who will cement him a couple of wobbly swing states, of course.

The Republican hit-squad in the media is out in full force, and the best they can do is act like the Zogby poll is the only one out there because it's practically the only one giving McCain a strong lead.

Here is what is not being said but should be: Just 8 years ago, JL was the Democratic nominee for Vice President! In that time the Donkey Party has moved so far left he isn't even welcome. Now Bill Clinton is not welcome and same for Jimmy Carter. You keep throwing your past leaders under the bus and there will be no bus to ride.

Once people get to know Obama's inane ideas on taxation, he will really be on the defensive. Add in a belligerent Russia and a malevolent Putin, and Barack could look like a schoolboy next to a soldier lke McCain.

The Republican campaigners have him between a rock and a hard place. They are forcing him to move right, which pisses off his leftist supporters. Given that the Surge has worked in Iraq, no one really cares about Iraq. They care about gasoline prices and the vast majority of people want more domestic drilling, which has the Dems trapped. On top of it, the Dems are haggling/blocking over transmission lines that would allow wind and solar energy to go where is is needed on both coasts and people are really going to be pissed.

The poll I saw was a combo poll of both Dem and Rep pollsters for the Wall Street Journal.

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Here is what is not being said but should be: Just 8 years ago, JL was the Democratic nominee for Vice President! In that time the Donkey Party has moved so far left he isn't even welcome. Now Bill Clinton is not welcome and same for Jimmy Carter. You keep throwing your past leaders under the bus and there will be no bus to ride.

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Try to get this straight: I'm not a Democrat. I'm voting for Obama, but I'm not a Democrat. Joe Lieberman has never been "my" candidate, and Gore taking him as a running mate was one of the worst mistakes he made in his campaign, in my opinion. (And he still won that election, no matter what Florida tells you.) And hey, get this: I don't dislike either Bill Clinton or Jimmy Carter. So please, stop telling me what "I'm" doing, because you clearly don't know anything about me.

Once people get to know Obama's inane ideas on taxation, he will really be on the defensive. Add in a belligerent Russia and a malevolent Putin, and Barack could look like a schoolboy next to a soldier lke McCain.

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Disagree. McCain looks old and senile at this point. I've been a fan of his for a long time. If he had won the nomination in 2000, there's a good chance he'd have gotten my vote. But not now. His stance on the war, his seemingly insane take on the economy, and his inability to understand that education and health care in this country are in shambles makes him someone I could never vote for at this point. So while you have your opinion, there are people (who aren't Democrats) out there who hold my opinion as well. And, looking at the polls, they outweigh those who feel the way you do so far.

The Republican campaigners have him between a rock and a hard place. They are forcing him to move right, which pisses off his leftist supporters. Given that the Surge has worked in Iraq, no one really cares about Iraq. They care about gasoline prices and the vast majority of people want more domestic drilling, which has the Dems trapped. On top of it, the Dems are haggling/blocking over transmission lines that would allow wind and solar energy to go where is is needed on both coasts and people are really going to be pissed.

The poll I saw was a combo poll of both Dem and Rep pollsters for the Wall Street Journal.

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Again, it's more misrepresentation by the right-wing media than anything. And I say right-wing media and mean a media that is interested in seeing this landslide be close for ratings. CNN, FoxNews and MSNBC are irrelevant in a landslide. In fact, you quoting a bunch of untrue talking points is the Republican strategy, and has been for eight years. It's sad that people buy them when they're so obviously wrong. The whole "surge has worked" and "domestic drilling will solve gas prices" are just ridiculous, untrue talking points. Remember "Iraq has WMDs, let's go to war"? How'd that one turn out again? The whole Bush Administration and it's stumbling through ruining our country is example of why nobody with any sense could support "more-of-the-same" McCain.

Try to get this straight: I'm not a Democrat. I'm voting for Obama, but I'm not a Democrat. Joe Lieberman has never been "my" candidate, and Gore taking him as a running mate was one of the worst mistakes he made in his campaign, in my opinion. (And he still won that election, no matter what Florida tells you.) And hey, get this: I don't dislike either Bill Clinton or Jimmy Carter. So please, stop telling me what "I'm" doing, because you clearly don't know anything about me.

I did not mean you personally. Its an all encompassing you.

Disagree. McCain looks old and senile at this point. I've been a fan of his for a long time. If he had won the nomination in 2000, there's a good chance he'd have gotten my vote. But not now. His stance on the war, his seemingly insane take on the economy, and his inability to understand that education and health care in this country are in shambles makes him someone I could never vote for at this point. So while you have your opinion, there are people (who aren't Democrats) out there who hold my opinion as well. And, looking at the polls, they outweigh those who feel the way you do so far.

I won't deny the old and senile. The war is now virtually a non issue. As of now its over. The surge by every measure has been a resounding success. That COULD change but as of now no one cares. Voters do not care about education that much. Most people are beginning to blame the Democrats for consistently blocking school choice. And the powerful teachers unions need to share in that blame. Voters care about the economy and gasoline, both which can be squarely blamed on Alan Greenspan. IN fact both Yahoo and MSN ran blurbs on how Greenspan hosed the economy. President Bush is getting a pass and rightly so.

Again, it's more misrepresentation by the right-wing media than anything. And I say right-wing media and mean a media that is interested in seeing this landslide be close for ratings. CNN, FoxNews and MSNBC are irrelevant in a landslide. In fact, you quoting a bunch of untrue talking points is the Republican strategy, and has been for eight years. It's sad that people buy them when they're so obviously wrong. The whole "surge has worked" and "domestic drilling will solve gas prices" are just ridiculous, untrue talking points. Remember "Iraq has WMDs, let's go to war"? How'd that one turn out again? The whole Bush Administration and it's stumbling through ruining our country is example of why nobody with any sense could support "more-of-the-same" McCain.

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You clearly don't read carefully. I said the poll I read was totally non partisan ran by a Republican and a Democrat together. That ain't Fox news. The Surge has worked. You saying it didn't is wrong but you tend not to have very convincing arguments or any concrete facts to back your positions. This is likely a bit above your head but domestic drilling will instantly lower oil prices as it shows that the USA means to find its own oil. That throws a monkey wrench into oil speculation. Oil is high due to the Fed ruining the dollar but now as the dollar gets stronger, oil is cheaper as I said it would be. (Damn I love being right all the time). Demand hasn't dropped a bit but the dollar is better.

Only a small percentage of extremely left leaning people feel the country is ruined. Most people are down about the econ and gas prices (thank you Alan Greenspan) but the vast percentage of Americans think the country is great and this is just a typical downtrend in the volatility of the economy. Get a grip, it is not anywhere near that bad for most people.

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Now let's see the American public that has been duped before is showing signs they want to get duped again. And this is news? Yes Saddam has weapons of mass destruction, the surge is working and off-shore drilling will fix gas prices. The same public that thinks low taxes and an ever increasing deficit are sustainable and nothing to worry about. That an endless line of credit is available to finance the fantasy. Well just as it did with the mortgage collapse so shall it be when the dollar collapses. Is this the populace we are talking about? They will elect the person that can continue the fantasy. And McCain does that so expect him to win.

I would actually be surprised if the poll showed Obama increasing his lead. Americans love short and sweet answers to huge problems and the Republican Party is more than happy to provide them. In spite of the contradictory evidence all around them.

know-nothingism  the insistence that there are simple, brute-force, instant-gratification answers to every problem, and that theres something effeminate and weak about anyone who suggests otherwise  has become the core of Republican policy and political strategy. The partys de facto slogan has become: Real men dont think things through.

Only a small percentage of extremely left leaning people feel the country is ruined. Most people are down about the econ and gas prices (thank you Alan Greenspan) but the vast percentage of Americans think the country is great and this is just a typical downtrend in the volatility of the economy. Get a grip, it is not anywhere near that bad for most people.

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:tool: Wow. 81% of the country is actually left leaning. I did not know that.

Now let's see the American public that has been duped before is showing signs they want to get duped again. And this is news? Yes Saddam has weapons of mass destruction, the surge is working and off-shore drilling will fix gas prices. The same public that thinks low taxes and an ever increasing deficit are sustainable and nothing to worry about. That an endless line of credit is available to finance the fantasy. Well just as it did with the mortgage collapse so shall it be when the dollar collapses. Is this the populace we are talking about? They will elect the person that can continue the fantasy. And McCain does that so expect him to win.

I would actually be surprised if the poll showed Obama increasing his lead. Americans love short and sweet answers to huge problems and the Republican Party is more than happy to provide them. In spite of the contradictory evidence all around them.

know-nothingism  the insistence that there are simple, brute-force, instant-gratification answers to every problem, and that theres something effeminate and weak about anyone who suggests otherwise  has become the core of Republican policy and political strategy. The partys de facto slogan has become: Real men dont think things through.

:tool: Wow. 81% of the country is actually left leaning. I did not know that.

Thank you for proving me right. What did I say? We are worried about the economy and gasoline. I should have included mortgages. And if ANYTHING confirms what I have posted, it is this paragraph in your cited article:

Despite rampant worries about the economy and concerns about the home mortgage crisis, Americans are relatively satisfied with their own financial status. Seventy-two percent rate their financial situation as at least somewhat good. But this number is down six points from February, and only nine percent of Americans say their financial situation is very good, which is down nine points in the last few weeks.

Most Americans admit that the state of the economy has taken a personal toll. Seventy-nine percent say they have had to make cutbacks in their daily spending in recent years, although only 28 percent say those cutbacks have been severe.

Although seven in ten Americans say the economy is getting worse, they are cautiously optimistic about its long-term future. Nearly half of Americans with families say they believe their children's standard of living will be better than their own. Twenty eight percent say they believe it will decline and 24 percent think it will be about the same as their own. Sixty-two percent of Americans think their standard of living is better than that of their parents when they were the same age.

I do disagree with the notion that their children will be better off. Social Security and Medicare will crush the life out of younger wage earners unless we severely limit benefits in the future. It is plain math, its not even contestable.

BTW deficits of $250 billion in an economy that churns along at $14 trillion is almost insignificant. I don't like it but it isn't hurting the economy at all.

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Uhhhh I said basically Americans are stupid but you can parse it any way you want. They are what can only be called clueless how their own government and Constitution works. The fact they are swayed by a Britney and Paris Hilton ad only proves it further.

Now let's see the American public that has been duped before is showing signs they want to get duped again. (snip)I would actually be surprised if the poll showed Obama increasing his lead. Americans love short and sweet answers to huge problems and the Republican Party is more than happy to provide them. In spite of the contradictory evidence all around them.

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The American people aren't into being duped again...It's more about The Democratic Party selecting and propping up the weakest candidate in this election. Given the choice between Bambi and the Maverick...voters are breaking for the stronger candidate. The hope and change speech was only going to go so far...We need a President...not a rockstar candidate who thinks he's a celebrity.

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McCain must be defeated. He simply must be. The man is a superfraud with nothing to offer the country besides more bad moves. I just hope that the American electorate sees it and acts accordingly before it's too late.

McCain must be defeated. He simply must be. The man is a superfraud with nothing to offer the country besides more bad moves. I just hope that the American electorate sees it and acts accordingly before it's too late.

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You're counting on the American public? It gave the majority of its votes to Bush in 2004 AFTER having nearly 4 years to see how imcompetent he is, and it gave nearly a majority of its votes to Bush in 2000, despite the fact that he had been a failure at nearly everything he had done in his entire life and had served as a governor of a state in which the governor has relatively little power except to stop executions (which he never did).

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You're counting on the American public? It gave the majority of its votes to Bush in 2004 AFTER having nearly 4 years to see how imcompetent he is, and it gave nearly a majority of its votes to Bush in 2000, despite the fact that he had been a failure at nearly everything he had done in his entire life and had served as a governor of a state in which the governor has relatively little power except to stop executions (which he never did).

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Read it and Weep:

Shenkman (Presidential Ambition) makes the provocative argument that as American voters have gained political power in the last 50 years, they have become increasingly ignorant of politics and world affairs&#8212;and dangerously susceptible to manipulation.The book provides a litany of depressing statistics&#8212;most Americans cannot name their representatives in Congress, only 20% hold a passport, 30% cannot identify the Holocaust&#8212;as Shenkman inquires whether Americans are capable of voting in the nation's or even their own best interests.

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Now let's see the American public that has been duped before is showing signs they want to get duped again. And this is news? Yes Saddam has weapons of mass destruction, the surge is working and off-shore drilling will fix gas prices. The same public that thinks low taxes and an ever increasing deficit are sustainable and nothing to worry about. That an endless line of credit is available to finance the fantasy. Well just as it did with the mortgage collapse so shall it be when the dollar collapses. Is this the populace we are talking about? They will elect the person that can continue the fantasy. And McCain does that so expect him to win.

I would actually be surprised if the poll showed Obama increasing his lead. Americans love short and sweet answers to huge problems and the Republican Party is more than happy to provide them. In spite of the contradictory evidence all around them.

know-nothingism  the insistence that there are simple, brute-force, instant-gratification answers to every problem, and that theres something effeminate and weak about anyone who suggests otherwise  has become the core of Republican policy and political strategy. The partys de facto slogan has become: Real men dont think things through.

:tool: Wow. 81% of the country is actually left leaning. I did not know that.

Absolutely correct. Most of the rest of the world (if not the American voter) knows that Obama far outclasses McCain, who seems often hard pressed to even articulate his...er...correction...his party's positions.

The way I figure, an Obama loss would be a referendum on America, not on Obama.

And given the record (how we sat back and let Bush steal his first term in office, then voted him back in for a second...) the outlook is indeed rather bleak.